Next, we narrowed our selection to create a manageable yet comprehensive list of the best products available. We bought all these products at retail cost to allow us to conduct an extended, objectively honest, and comparative review. These review editors rigorously assessed these grills and distributed them to friends to gather a fresh perspective. For the fans of pit-cooking out there, we offer up the Weber Go-Anywhere Charcoal Grill. This well-built barbeque is an innovative take on the manufacturer’s classic design, incorporating their enameled, cast-iron construction into a convenient, compact package. The rectangular basin can hold a coal bed that is both deep and evenly spread.
If you want to cook inside, you’ll want to look for an indoor grill, which are typically electric. On the charcoal side, insulation plays a much more important role in output power and efficiency. The Cuisinart Portable Charcoal and Weber Go-Anywhere are very similar in terms of coal bed volume, but the Go-Anywhere scores much higher thanks to its cast iron construction. For the charcoal options, I also smoked ribs, pork, and brisket, If you’re planning to smoke, I highly recommend investing in some kind of thermometer system. It has adapters based on your grill and offers one temp probe and three food probes. There’s Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support, so you can keep tabs on your cook from anywhere.
Plus we have a collection of the best vegetarian barbecue recipes and best vegan barbecue recipes so nobody feels left out of the picnic. Portable barbecues are a convenient middle ground between hefty grills and disposable trays. Here’s our pick of the best travel, bucket and tabletop BBQs, tried and tested. If those cons have you second-guessing yourself, you may want to look at our best portable pellet grill for another option.
Grills equipped with an accessible coupling for 1-pound liquid-propane canisters are a must. One-pound canisters are lightweight, inexpensive, and available at most hardware stores. Lugging around a 20-pound propane cylinder (which actually weighs 35 pounds when full) isn’t our idea of portability. If you wind up wanting to use a larger tank, you can purchase portable bbq an adapter with a Type 1 connector for a 20-pound refillable propane tank. We immediately ruled out collapsible models because they’re made from thin steel and probably not durable enough for regular use. Portable kamado grills are gaining popularity, but we think their 12- to 14-inch grilling surfaces are too small to justify the high price.
Warm weather is still a ways off for many of us, but this is time of year when, like a groundhog, the grill starts to poke out of the snow and show its rusty, neglected self. If you’re in need of a new grill this year, here’s our guide to the very best portable grills. We’ve researched and tested dozens of portable grills to see which can brat the best.
We were able to roll the grill around easily, with the collapsible cart, and with the dedicated firebox and locking grill lid, we didn’t spread ashes wherever we went with it. The Masterbuilt Portable Charcoal Grill makes grilling with charcoal easy, fast, and clean. Most portable charcoal grills have a very small cooking area, so they are only good for direct grilling of items like steak or burgers. To do any smoking, you’d need a 2-zone fire with the briquettes on one side and food on the other. In general, you’ll find portable charcoal grills with 300 square inches or less of cooking surface. The Char-Broil Portable Grill2Go X200 Gas Grill is a solid compact grill for remote cookouts because it’s rugged, lightweight, and easy to carry.
Compared to other charcoal barbecues, we couldn’t believe the ease with which you could cook – no need to coax the coals, simply fire it up and expect good heat for over half an hour. The charcoal is in an enclosed container, and with a fan going, you don’t get much in the way of charcoal flavour, but the efficiency and generous cooking area far outweighs this. At just 13 inches tall by 20 inches wide, the Traeger Scout wood pellet grill won’t take up much room in the car and has enough cooking surface for 10 hot dogs, 6 burgers, or a rack of ribs. Charcoal briquette disposal is another drawback of portable charcoal grills. You’ll have to budget time to let the charcoals cool before you can safely dispose of them, and find a safe place to put them.
The grill has no lid for cooking, as the top consists of a storage compartment and cutting board. As such, you’re grilling with direct heat and should keep that in mind when meal planning. The Venture, with its picnic basket appearance, is a good entry-level grill for the uninitiated and a value model for more experienced grillers. It’s a model intended for direct-heat cooking, as there’s no lid to control humidity for “low and slow” cooking. The burner packs 9,000 BTUs under enameled cast iron, providing adequate heat for small-group cooking.